Stage 5

Tejay van Garderen Wins Stage 5 of Pro Challenge

(Photo by Tejay van Garderen is all but assured of victory at the 2013 USA Pro Challenge after his winning time trial performance. (Wil Matthews))

Tejay van Garderen won the Stage 5 Vail time trial, all but assuring his general classification victory at the USA Pro Challenge. The BMC racer crushed the previous course record of 25:47, set in 2011 by the stage and overall winner Levi Leipheimer.

The time trial course dates back to Colorado’s legendary Coors Classic stage race of the 1980s. Starting in the Vail ski village and climbing 16.1km up Vail Pass, the course gains nearly 1,700 feet of elevation, with no spots for recovery. The Pro Challenge first revived the course for the inaugural 2011 edition. But that stage saw van Garderen cede his race lead to Leipheimer.

Now, two years later, van Garderen stamped his authority on the race. GC contender Tom Danielson of Garmin-Sharp put in a strong performance with 26:03—good enough for third on the day—while his Garmin teammate Andrew Talansky put in the day’s first record-breaking ride of 25:05 for second place. Danielson’s time moved him into third overall, behind van Garderen teammate Mathias Frank.

Though two stages remain, Stage 6’s only KOM peaks more than 100km from the finish, and Stage 7 is a flat circuit race. Barring any major accidents, the GC, young rider, and KOM competitions will remain unchanged.

Wish I was in Colorado to help my boy defend this jersey but seems that @BMCProTeam have it under control..! TvG, so proud! @USAProChallenge

What It Means
Van Garderen is clearly the strongest rider in the race. He was far and away faster on the demanding Vail TT course than any of the other GC contenders, with only Garmin’s Andrew Talansky able to come close. In fact, van Garderen’s time of 25:01 was 46 seconds faster than Levi Leipheimer’s winning time on the same course in 2011, the race’s first year.

Behind van Garderen, there was plenty of churn as Janier Acevedo (Jamis-Hagens Berman) dropped off the podium and Tom Danielson jumped to third. Making big moves on GC were Bontrager’s Lawson Craddock (15th to 7th overall) and RadioShack’s young Kiwi George Bennett (13th to 8th).

But for van Garderen, the result is a confidence-boosting rebound from his tough Tour de France, where he struggled with crashes and low morale. He’s now two-for-two in major American stage races and won both here and in California with commanding performances on the crucial days and smart, tactical riding, not to mention a powerful team.

The young American is tipped as a possible Tour de France winner and now, his challenge is to transfer that confidence back to the Grand Tours. It’s entirely likely he will; despite his early struggles, he finished strongly with a good final time trial and his near-miss on Alpe d’Huez.

In some ways, his difficult Tour may be a benefit to him, as he’s learned how to fight through adversity. The criticism of van Garderen in the past was that his mental fortitude didn’t quite match his physical skills. Now, the physical skills are even more formidable and growth experiences like his Tour point to a promising future.

(Wil Matthews)

What to Expect
Saturday, the Pro Challenge finally starts at an elevation below 7,000 feet. But it’s no cakewalk. The sixth stage is a hilly, 115-mile affair that includes a nearly 20-mile climb up Devil’s Gulch. Moderate grades give way to a steep ramp in the last mile or so, and an early breakaway is a near certainty.

But as quickly as riders hit the summit, they will have an equally long and relatively untechnical descent where a peloton can put a serious dent in any lead if it’s chasing in earnest.

The break point may come as the race approaches Horsetooth Reservoir near Fort Collins, where a series of short but sharp rollers will offer a likely launching pad for an attack—from the break if it’s still out front, or from the pack if the early move has been reabsorbed.

The finish has no circuits, just a slight downhill run into town. If BMC’s Greg Van Avermaet hopes to make any kind of run at the points jersey, he needs to start here with a win, although mathematically Cannondale’s Peter Sagan has a lead as formidable as his own finishing kick.

Notes
—While much of the Pro Challenge course has featured towns and even courses the race is familiar with, Stage 6 will be an entirely new route with two new host towns, Loveland and Fort Collins.

—One competition that is over is the King of the Mountains, where Jamis-Hagens Berman’s Matt Cooke has an unassailable 16-point lead over BMC’s Mathias Frank. Even if Frank won the KoM tomorrow (unlikely unless for some reason there’s no breakaway) and Cooke scored no placing, Frank would make up a maximum of 10 points.

—Bissell’s Chris Baldwin (14th overall starting Stage 4) did not start Stage 5. He had a gruesome DNF on the stage to Beaver Creek when, in a freak accident, his hand slipped off the handlebar and went into the front wheel. Although he didn’t crash, Baldwin soon passed out from the shock and was transported to a hospital where doctors were able to save his fingers. He faces a long recovery, however, and we wish him the best.